Canada had about 8,000 less registered players this year (617,107) than in last year’s survey (625,152), the study revealed.

Overall, the IIHF survey found, there are more people playing hockey around the world, more officials certified and more ice hockey rinks to play in.

There was a 2.7% increase in global player enrollment, bringing the total number to 1.64 million players.

Two traditional hockey countries with considerable registration growth include the Czech Republic, which had a 13.28% increase over the previous survey, and Finland, which saw an impressive 17.68% boost over the same time.

In non-traditional hockey nations like South Korea and Australia, things are also looking up. South Korea’s enrollment saw a 28.73% increase, while Australia added three rinks to bring its total to 20.